Role of transrectal ultrasonography in evaluting azoospermia causes

Infertility is a term with which we define lack of pregnancy among sexual partners within one year of regular intercourses without use of contraceptives. The term primary infertility includes lack of any previous pregnancy, while secondary infertility is a current infertility with previous successful pregnancy. Azoospermia is an inability to produce spermatozoids in testicles or represents normal production of the spermatozoids but the obstacle is somewhere in the ejaculatory paths. Transrectal ultrasonography (TRUS) provides us with the quality and most reliable data about the urinary bladder, prostate gland. Seminiferous tubule and ejaculatory ducts. The goal of this paper is to determine the role of TRUS in patients with azoospermia, in one significant sample of infertile respondents. During 2005 and 2006, among 35 patients with verified azoospermia, and which were involved in determination of infertility cause, also TRUS was performed as a mode of ultrasound diagnostic procedure. Average age of the patients was 35 years. Evaluation is done with use of ultrasound equipment HDI 4000-PHILIPS, with Color Doppler equipped with the transrectal ,biplane" probe of high frequency 9.5 MHz. There was 10 (29%) normal findings (29%), and 25 (71%) pathological. Also there was 8 (23%) dilatated vesicles, 6 (17%) wide ejaculatory ducts, 5 (13%) calcifications in vesicles. Atrophy and hypotrophy of vesicles was present in 3 (9%) cases and 3 (9%) central prostate cysts. TRUS is a useful diagnostic method in evaluation of seminal vesicles, ejaculatory ducts and prostate gland abnormalities. These abnormalities can cause azoospermia as the most important cause of infertility.